The U.S. approach to international conflict in the post–Cold War period—how we think about them and what actions we take—is enormously affected by America’s capabilities to quell conflicts by diplomatic, economic, and military means. To date, the United States has been trapped between classic diplomatic table-thumping and indiscriminate economic sanctions on the one hand, and major military intervention on the other hand. However, nonlethal weapons may offer an innovative and effective middle option that could lend weight to U.S. crisis diplomacy and offer new capabilities for pressuring adversaries or fighting wars with minimal loss of life.

To explore this potential and its impact on policy, the Council on Foreign Relations sponsored a second Independent Task Force on Nonlethal Technologies. Despite recommendations by a 1995 Council on Foreign Relations Task Force report for “prompt action by the United States to explore nonlethal weapons options,” this 1999 follow-up report responds to the fact that little movement has been made in that direction. Under the chairmanship of Council Senior Fellow Richard L. Garwin and Project Director W. Montague Winfield, it outlines the three major steps to introducing NLWs into U.S. policy, and urges President Clinton and his administration to take action. First, the executive administration must set guidelines on how to determine the positive and negative aspects of the use of NLWs; second, sufficient funding must be allocated to researching and developing NLWs; finally, the efficacy and coordination of military leadership must be on par with the project’s importance.

Task Force MembersUp

CHARLES R. LARSON, USN (Ret.), is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Naval Analysis. He served in the Navy for 40 years in a variety of command positions including service as Commander in Chief U.S. Pacific Command.

EDWARD N. LUTTWAK is Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C. He is also a member of the National Security Study Group administered by the Department of Defense.

EDWARD C. MEYER, USA (Ret.), is Chair of Mitretek Systems. He was formerly Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

CHRISTOPHER MORRIS* is Vice President of M2 Technologies, Inc., support contractor to the Joint Nonlethal Weapons Directorate. While serving as Research Director of the U.S. Global Strategy Council, he coauthored the original nonlethal weapons concept. M2 has been awarded four sole-source U.S. government contracts in the nonlethal weapons area.

JANET MORRIS* is the President of M2 Technologies, Inc., and has authored more than 40 books exploring the future of technology. She headed the first Nonlethality Policy Review Group as Project Director and Senior Fellow at the U.S. Global Strategy Council.

ROBERT B. OAKLEY+ is Acting Director for the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University. He served twice as Assistant to the President for the Near East and South Asia on the National Security Council Staff, and served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and as Ambassador to Somalia, Zaire, and Pakistan.

GEORGE H. QUESTER is a Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, where he teaches courses on international relations, U.S. foreign policy, and international military security. He has served as the Olin Visiting Professor at the U.S. Naval Academy and taught in the Department of Military Strategy at the National War College.

FREDERICK ROGGERO, USAF, is the Commander, 22d Air Refueling Wing at McConnell AFB, Kansas. He served as a 1998-99 Military Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Prior to the Council, he served as Commander, 319th Operations Group, 319th Air Refueling Wing, Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota.

HARVEY M. SAPOLSKY is Professor of Public Policy and Organization and Director of the MIT Security Studies Program.

MALCOLM H. WIENER is a historian specializing in the Aegean Bronze Age, following prior careers in law and in investment management as Founder and CEO of the Millburn Corporation. He served as Chair of the 1995 Independent Task Force on Nonlethal Technologies.

W. MONTAGUE WINFIELD, USA, is currently serving in Sarajevo as the Executive Officer to the Commander of the Stabilization Force (SFOR). He commanded troops in Haiti, Macedonia, and Bosnia. He also served as a 1998-99 Military Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

DOV S. ZAKHEIM is CEO of SPC International Corporation and Adjunct Professor at Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut. He is a former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Planning and Resources.

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